Herman Thomas

Ceremony

Family and friends,

We are gathered here today on this beautiful rooftop to celebrate the marriage of Jamie and David.

Today, here by the ocean, we are reminded that love is both powerful and steady. Like the tide, it moves, changes, and grows. Like the shore, it requires strength, patience, and a foundation that can endure.

Before we continue, I want to take a brief personal moment, because standing here today is very meaningful to me.

I first came to know Jamie’s mother, Debbie, many years ago when we worked together at the Missile Defense Agency. Later, I met David when he came to the Missile Defense Agency on assignment. David and I became fast friends. We spent a lot of time together — attending ballgames, hockey games, nights out, and having conversations about travel, investing, and life. We had a lot in common, and over time, that friendship became something I valued greatly.

Then one night, on the way to a hockey game, Debbie introduced David and me to her family, and that is when I first met Jamie.

Sometime later, I had tickets to a Chris Stapleton concert in Nashville that I was unable to use, so I offered them to David. At first, he was not sure he could find someone to go with him. But once he realized it was a Chris Stapleton concert, he found someone willing to go.

That someone was Jamie.

And from where we are standing today, I think it is safe to say that concert date turned out very well.

Since then, I have had the honor of getting to know Jamie. She is kind, generous, faithful, and genuine. Through her, I have also come to know her family — a close, loving, and caring family. Jamie has become a trusted friend, and David has remained a valued friend. So to stand here today, as they begin their marriage, is truly an honor.

At this time, Jamie and David have asked Jamie’s cousins, Brendan and Michelle, to share a few readings.

[Pause here for cousins’ readings.]

{1 Corinthians 13:4-7} & {Colossians 3:12-17}

Thank you, Brendan and Michelle.

This is a day of joy, but it is also a day of commitment.

Marriage is one of the most serious and honorable promises two people can make. It requires loyalty, courage, humility, patience, duty, honor, and service to one another.

Those words — loyalty, courage, duty, honor, service, and commitment — carry special meaning for anyone who has worn the uniform. But they also belong deeply in marriage.

A strong marriage is not built only on love as a feeling. It is built on love as a daily decision.

Jamie and David, today you are choosing to become partners in the fullest sense. You are choosing to support one another, protect one another’s hearts, speak truth with kindness, and build a life grounded in trust.

There will be easy days and hard days. There will be moments of laughter, moments of challenge, and moments when one of you will need to be strong for the other. The promise you make today is that you will not face those moments alone.

Marriage is a team. It is a shared mission. It is two people saying, “Your life matters to me. Your dreams matter to me. Your burdens are not yours alone.”

So now, before your family and friends, I ask you to make your promises to one another.

David, do you take Jamie to be your lawful wedded wife, to love, honor, and cherish, to stand beside her in joy and in hardship, in sickness and in health, and to remain faithful from this day forward?

David responds: I do.

Jamie, do you take David to be your lawful wedded husband, to love, honor, and cherish, to stand beside him in joy and in hardship, in sickness and in health, and to remain faithful from this day forward?

Jamie responds: I do.

May I have the rings?

The rings you exchange today are a visible reminder of an invisible promise. They will remind you not only of this day, but of the life you are pledging to build together.

David, place the ring on Jamie’s finger and repeat after me:

I give you this ring

as a symbol of my love and commitment.

I promise to honor you, support you,

and walk beside you

for all the days of my life.

Jamie, place the ring on David’s finger and repeat after me:

I give you this ring

as a symbol of my love and commitment.

I promise to honor you, support you,

and walk beside you

for all the days of my life.

At this time, Jamie and David have chosen to include a special tradition in today’s ceremony.

They have each written a personal letter to the other — words from the heart, written on this day, to be opened on future anniversaries. These letters will be placed into this wooden box along with several bottles of wine that all hold a special meaning for them, two are from places they have grown to love on their journey to the South Bay and the third one is the same type of wine they shared during their engagement.

As they seal these letters and this wine into the box, let it stand as a reminder of where their love has been, where it is today, and the future they are building together.

On future anniversaries, when they open this box, may they be reminded not only of the promises made here today, but also of the love, hope, joy, and commitment that brought them to this moment.

Jamie and David, you have made your promises, exchanged rings, and honored the story that brought you to this day. You have chosen each other as partners in life, in love, and in the mission of building a future together.

By the authority entrusted to me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

David, you may kiss your bride.

Family and friends, please join me in congratulating Jamie and David as husband and wife.